Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Football Prepares For Lumberjacks
September 10, 2001 | Cowboy Football
Sept. 10, 2001
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Pokes Look for Second Straight
Oklahoma State remains on the home turf this week as the Cowboys look for a second-straight non-conference win. After escaping Louisiana Tech, 30-23, last week, the Cowboys will host Northern Arizona Saturday night. Kickoff for the contest is set for 7:05 p.m. and it will be the Cowboys' final home game of the month. OSU takes to the road next week for the Big 12 opener against Texas A&M before facing an open week and returning to Lewis Field on Oct. 6 to host Missouri.
Another First-Timer
For the second-straight week, Oklahoma State is facing a first-time football opponent. OSU defeated Louisiana Tech Saturday, and will be facing the Lumberjacks for the first time this week. In fact, Oklahoma State has played only nine previous games against teams from Arizona. OSU is 3-3 vs. Arizona, with all six game being played between 1931 and 1942. The Cowboys are 1-2 against Arizona State with those games being played in 1984, 1991 and 1993. Going into this week's game against NAU, the Cowboys are 4-5 vs. the state of Arizona.
Welcome to the Big 12
OSU's Saturday opponent has not ventured much into the Big 12 Conference. In fact, Oklahoma State will represent just the second Lumberjack football opponent from the Big 12. NAU has faced Texas Tech twice previously, losing both games. Saturday's game will represent the first time in OSU football history the Cowboys have face an opponent from the Big Sky Conference.
Tickets
Individual game tickets for this week's contest against Northern Arizona, and each of OSU's remaining home games, are available at the Athletic Ticket Office in the Athletics Center, or by phone. After this week's game against NAU, OSU has remaining home contests against Missouri, Texas, Colorado and Texas Tech. The Athletic Ticket office is located on the north side of the Athletics Center and the toll-free phone number is 1-877-ALL-4-OSU.
On the Air
Saturday night's game will be broadcast live on the Cowboy Radio Network with stations in Oklahoma from border to border. The network is distributed by Cowboy Sports Properties, a division of Learfield Communications in Jefferson City, Mo. Dave Hunziker is in his first season as the radio voice of OSU football and basketball. He replaced Bill Teegins, who was on of 10 victims in the January plane crash in Colorado. Hunziker is joined in the booth by Tom Dirato. The network broadcast begins one hour before kickoff. There will be no live television of the Northern Arizona-OSU game.
New Traditions a Success
Just two games into the Les Miles era of Oklahoma State football, a couple of new traditions appear to be popular. An estimated 2,000 people lined Hester Street Saturday afternoon as the Cowboys walked from the Student Union Hotel to Lewis Field. Weather permitting, the Cowboys will stage the walk before every home game, and all fans are encouraged to be on Hester Street and even fill in behind the team as they walk by. OSU's first win of the season also produced another new tradition. Immediately following the 30-23 win over La. Tech, OSU players and coaches ran to the northwest corner of Lewis Field and joined thousands of OSU students in singing the alma mater. The Pokes will do the same thing after every win on Lewis Field.
Third Game Memories
As Oklahoma State prepares for game three of the 2001 season, many will remember a significant third game 18 years ago. In what would be Jimmy Johnson's final season as OSU's head coach, the Cowboys opened the 1983 season with wins over North Texas (20-13) and Cincinnati (27-17). It's 2-0 record on the line, O-State journeyed to College Station for a key, early-season game against Texas A&M. A CBS regional-television audience, and more than 53,000 fans at Kyle Field, watched the Cowboys overcome a 6-0 first-quarter deficit and roll to a 34-15 win over the Aggies. Tailback Shawn Jones and flanker Jamie Harris provided the offensive spark. Jones rushed for 203 yards on 37 carries, including an 80-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Playing with a broken bone in his hand, Harris caught six passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Oklahoma State's final points were provided by its defense. James Ham intercepted a pass and returned it 69 yards for a touchdown. The Cowboys went on to win four straight to open the '83 season and finished the year at 8-4 with a Bluebonnet Bowl win over Baylor.
Big 12 Prelude
Saturday's game against Northern Arizona is also Oklahoma State's final non-conference game of the season. The Cowboys jump into Big 12 play next week at Texas A&M. An Oklahoma State win over NAU this week would give the Cowboys a 2-1 record in the non-league portion of the schedule and represent the sixth-straight season OSU has won at least two of its three non-conference games.
Lots of Orange
Oklahoma State opened its home season in front of 41,205 mostly orange clad partisans at Lewis Field. Looking back over official attendance figures for the past six years, it was OSU's largest opening day crowd since 1994. The '94 home opener drew just over 44,000. In addition, Oklahoma State's general public season tickets sales for 2001 should be close to a record and no worse than the second-most general public season tickets ever sold.
The Meaningless Stat of the Week
A win this week is also important if you consider that in the last 27 years, only twice has OSU lost its final non-conference game and won it's league opener. In 1979, the Cowboys lost at South Carolina, 23-16, and won the Big Eight opener at Missouri by a 14-23 margin. In 1974, Oklahoma State lost at Texas Tech in the non-league finale, but won the league opener, 31-7, over Mizzou.
OSU Last Week
It wasn't easy, but Oklahoma State hung on for a 30-23 win over Louisiana Tech on Lewis Field. The Cowboys threatened to run away with things early, bolting to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Quarterback Aso Pogi scored on a one-yard run and tailback Tatum Bell did the same to account for OSU's first two scores. Oklahoma State added a pair of second-quarter field goals by Luke Phillips, but La. Tech scored quickly on a 32-yard fumble recovery and a 48-yard field goal, and O-State led by just seven at the half. The Bulldogs tied the game at 20-20 with 6:08 remaining in the third quarter and knotted the game again at 23-23 with 10:15 left in the game. OSU's defense shut La. Tech down in the fourth quarter and Cowboy special teams provided the winning points. On a fourth-and-22 play from their own 16, Louisiana Tech could not get a punt off. The ball rolled into the end zone where Robbie Gillem covered it for an OSU touchdown. Bell led all rushers with 109 yards on 20 carries, but saw limited action in the second half. Pogi completed 11-of-22 passes for 137 yards and Rashaun Woods had four catches for 36 yards. Linebackers Terrence Robinson and Dwayne Levels led the defense with eight tackles each. Robinson had two pass deflections while Levels had one tackle for minus-three yards and a quarterback hurry.
With the Game on the Line
Oklahoma State's defense came up big Saturday, especially with the game hanging in the balance in the fourth quarter. The defensive heroes were many, but four plays helped the Cowboys escape with a seven-point win over Louisiana Tech. Defensive tackle Kevin Williams was in on two of those plays. With OSU leading 23-20 and Tech facing a third down on the OSU three, Williams stuffed quarterback Luke McCown for no gain, forcing the Bulldogs to kick a game-tying field goal. After Oklahoma State's next possession stalled, Louisiana Tech started from its own 40, but two plays into the drive, Roger Bombach intercepted a McCown pass. Once again, OSU was unable to generate much offense and had to punt. Facing 3-and-7 from its 31, Kevin Williams sacked McCown for a 15-yard loss. That play would set up the heroics that won the game for OSU.
Northern Arizona Last Week
The Lumberjacks ran their record to 2-0 on the season with a 10-3 win over Stephen F. Austin in Flagstaff. NAU scored on an 11-yard pass from Preston Parsons to Tom Winn and on a 34-yard field goal by Ty Dondelinger. Northern Arizona rushed for 189 yards, including 146 yards on 27 carries by Marcus King. Parsons completed 11-of-26 for 94 yards. He had one touchdown and was sacked once. The NAU defense held Stephen F. Austin to just 88 rushing yards but the visitors did pass for 183 yards. Saturday's game in Stillwater will mark NAU's first road outing of the season, but is the first of three straight for the Lumberjacks away from home.
